Liveaboard Diving in Guadalupe

What To Expect On A Guadalupe Liveaboard

Guadalupe liveaboard boats offer divers a special dive trip to get up close and personal with the awe inspiring Great White Sharks. One of the few places in the world where liveaboards visit to see these creatures in their natural habitat. Guadalupe Island; a tiny island off the west coast of Mexico which is still part of the Baja California state. This volcanic island only has a population of 213 people and measures 35km (21mi) by 9km (6mi), but it provides liveaboard divers with the best spot in the world to go cage diving with Great White sharks. This is a newly named Bio-Sphere reserve and so a protected area, which means an even more pure experience from your Guadalupe liveaboard. There is a minimum amount of chumming here as these trips want to conserve the natural behaviours and environment of the sharks, to be as minimally invasive as possible.

GUADALUPE UNDERWATER

The main reasons for this being a top spot for dive cruises with these sharks are the warmer waters; the water temperatures during this time of the year are between 19 degrees Celsius (66 Fahrenheit) and 22 degrees Celsius (71 Fahrenheit) so still a pleasant diving temperature; just a wet suit needed., the second reason is that the visibility here is generally excellent; on average it ranges from 42m to 50m (125ft-150ft) which is great to see sharks already coming from afar.

Up to now they have identified 171 individual sharks in the region and each few months different sharks come by. July and August is when the rowdy, bachelor, teenage males come by that provide divers with an energetic experience. In September the females start showing up and then you see a mix of all sorts of sharks and finally in October and November the large females appear, magnificent and calm creatures that are curious about the cage so will be a perfect opportunity for some shark underwater photography. The combination of warm, clear, turquoise waters and the excitement of coming so close to some of the most impressive species of the sea is a truly unique experience.

A Guadalupe liveaboard trip itinerary is truly focused solely on experiencing diving with Great White sharks, there are no colourful reefs around but you might also spot some Guadalupe fur seals for some extra playful creatures as Guadalupe hosts a population of over 10,000 of them. It also hosts a population of Northern elephant seals.

DIVE SITES OF GUADALUPE

There are no specific, named dive sites here, the crew of the boat lower multiple cages at different locations around the island, where they think is best to see the sharks, and then you get an opportunity to descend down into all those cages.

TIPS FOR DIVERS

There are currently liveaboards which depart from San Diego to Guadalupe island; they run from July to October as these are the peak seasons for Great White sharks, and sharks is what you will get to see on these trips. Liveaboard.com provides liveaboard trips for five days, and each day you will do around 4 dives. The cages are lowered down into the water immediately on arrival so the sharks can get used to it. The cages are hung at around 10 metres down into the water and Surface Supplied Air is used by all the divers, which means all divers are able to participate. Please keep in mind that extra costs may be involved such as alcoholic beverages and dive insurance; please always check this before booking.

The island of Guadalupe is in general quite calm with the possibility of big waves, however, each liveaboard has their own minimum dive experience level, please always check this before booking and it is important to remember your dive logs/logbooks. It is possible to rent equipment but it will be more comfortable yourself to use your own gear, so if possible bring that with. This will truly be the time you will be the closest to these giants of the ocean so it would be completely worth it to bring an underwater camera, to capture these unforgettable memories.

The main language spoken on this island is Spanish, however English is widely spoken all around the country of Mexico and on the liveaboards. The currency is the Mexican Peso and you can easily exchange all popular currencies such as US dollars and Euros etc. on the port from where you will depart.

The plug is the same plug as the US; two flat prongs with the standard voltage being 127V. Please remember to bring an adaptor for all your electrics if you are not coming from the US.

HOW TO GET THERE

San Diego is the main port that our liveaboards to Guadalupe Island depart from. San Diego's international airport is the Lindbergh Field international airport. It is located around 4.5km (3mi) from downtown San Diego; so in an easily accessible place. Flights arrive from multiple destinations including other cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and even Tokyo.

The port from which the liveaboards will depart is the Unified Port of San Diego. The liveaboards will depart in the evening, usually at 7pm, and arrive the next day in the afternoon as the Guadalupe Island is around 400km (260mi) from the mainland.